Hunter x Hunter had many characters, and Gelman certainly couldn't remember every one of them. But he could recall at least some of the more distinctive faces.
The 2D and 3D worlds were different, but after meeting members of the Phantom Troupe, he'd realized the gap wasn't all that big. It was like comparing a sketch to a real person.
If he wasn't mistaken, the girl who'd just pretended to shyly look at him was probably the Jewel Hunter, Biscuit.
Gelman didn't look back at her again. He continued eating, and after finishing his noodles, he put down his chopsticks and drank some of the broth before getting up to pay.
He headed toward the proprietress, naturally passing the table where the blonde girl with twin tails was sitting.
He stole a quick glance from the corner of his eye and compared her to his memory. This time, Gelman was seventy or eighty percent sure it was Biscuit.
After paying, he walked out of the restaurant under the proprietress's resentful gaze and onto the busy street.
First, he'd withdraw some money.
His previous self had been a moderately well-known assassin, and there was quite a bit of money in his bank account.
Gelman withdrew a small amount of cash from the bank. When he came out, he saw Biscuit again.
Biscuit rubbed her eyes with both hands, tears welling up as she put on a pitiful expression. Every time she sniffled, she gave an exaggerated little tremble.
A crying girl could easily stir a man's protective instincts. Already, quite a few concerned glances were being cast her way.
Gelman glanced at the small crowd that had stopped to watch, but said nothing.
If Gelman hadn't known beforehand that Biscuit was actually a woman in her fifties, he really might have been fooled by her act.
Biscuit was a decent person.
But Gelman wasn't exactly a good person himself, and he couldn't figure out what Biscuit was after. So he simply turned and left, ignoring her.
It was best not to get involved with her for now.
He'd only gone a short distance when he heard Biscuit click her tongue and hurry after him on her short legs.
She's following me? Is she angry because I saw through her? What does Biscuit want, anyway?
Isn't she a Jewel Hunter? Did she see me and decide to play Bounty Hunter for a while?
Wait. Jewel Hunter... jewels...
Gelman thought of the Ruby of Promise his previous self had stolen and given to Chrollo. He had a pretty good idea why Biscuit was keeping an eye on him.
She loved jewels, and she'd taken a liking to the Ruby of Promise.
Biscuit was part of the Hunter Association. Under normal circumstances, she couldn't attack a jewel merchant, much less take the pair of rubies she'd set her sights on.
But now the rubies were in Gelman's hands, and that changed things.
She had a very flexible sense of morality. Stealing jewels from a thief and an assassin wouldn't count as "stealing."
All she had to do was find a way to get the rubies from Gelman, and they'd be hers.
Gelman rubbed his chin.
How could he tactfully tell her that the rubies weren't on him anymore?
More importantly, would she believe him?
He walked on, head bowed in thought, until he bumped into a thin man.
Hm?
Even distracted, Gelman had been trying to avoid the thin man.
The man, on the other hand, had come right up to him, pretending they'd accidentally bumped into each other.
Then Gelman noticed that the man's hands weren't clean at all. He'd actually stolen Gelman's wallet.
A pickpocket?
Gelman couldn't help whistling. His right hand seemed to have a mind of its own, shooting out and back in the blink of an eye.
The thin man jumped at the sound of Gelman's whistle. Then, realizing Gelman didn't seem to have noticed his little trick, he apologized for bumping into him and hurried away.
Gelman turned into a dark alley and reached into his coat. He pulled out not only his own wallet, but two others he'd stolen from the thin man.
He opened the two wallets, took out the cash, and counted it. There was a total of over six thousand Jenny.
Jenny had about the same purchasing power as yen. The thin man had done fairly well today, but now it all belonged to Gelman.
He tossed the two useless wallets onto the ground and put the six thousand-plus Jenny in his own wallet.
Biscuit, who'd been quietly watching, turned into the alley. She'd dropped her pitiful act and was now full of energy.
She pointed at Gelman, feigning shock.
"Ah—Big Brother, you stole someone's wallet. That's not okay. It's a crime! I'm going to tell the police!"
Gelman glanced at her and understood.
She was entrapment bait.
Biscuit was acting like one of those bratty little girls, pretending to be weak to lure Gelman into making a move and letting his guard down, then setting off an alarm...
Except the alarm wouldn't bring the police. It would bring her.
Gelman decided to explain things outright so they wouldn't waste each other's time.
"The Ruby of Promise isn't in my hands. I've already handed it over to a broker. It should have been sold by now. Give it up."
He gave her a partly true, partly false explanation that sounded fairly credible. It was, after all, the normal way of handling things.
Hearing this, Biscuit realized Gelman had seen through the fact that she wasn't an ordinary girl. She dropped the act, looking a little disappointed, then put her hands on her hips and studied him with interest.
"When did you figure out who I was and what I wanted? Neither of my two beautiful-girl disguises was enough to make you relax and drop your Ten... Hmm, let me guess. At the restaurant?"
Gelman didn't want to keep talking with her, so he turned to leave again.
But Biscuit doggedly hurried after him on her short legs, holding the hem of her Princess Skirt in both hands.
"I don't get it... What gave me away? I hid my aura really well, and I didn't say anything strange. Big Brother in the hat, tell me."
Gelman certainly wasn't going to say that he'd known from the start that she had the appearance of a child but was far older than her years. That would probably trigger an extremely terrifying dungeon.
That would be very unwise.
So he came up with another explanation.
"It was simply suspicious for a beautiful girl of twelve or thirteen to be eating noodles alone in a restaurant with no guardian around. And then you blatantly followed me."
Biscuit stopped in her tracks and stared for a moment.
Then she excitedly and happily hurried after him again, her twin tails bouncing as she beamed.
"What? So that's it... I guess I didn't think it through. Someone as young and beautiful as me would look strange without an adult nearby. Beauty is such a thing..."
She suddenly reached out and grabbed Gelman's arm before he could react.
Gelman was slightly startled. He tried to yank himself free, but couldn't.
Biscuit held his wrist with her left hand and planted her right hand on her hip, striking an elegant pose like a female idol.
"Anyway, let's set aside the fact that I'm beautiful for a moment. I have another question."
"Gelman, when you said you'd handed them to a broker, were you talking about the Phantom Troupe?"
Gelman looked down at her pretty face as a smug smile gradually appeared on it. It seemed she'd come prepared.
He looked down at the petite Biscuit.
"How do you know I'm connected to the Phantom Troupe?"
Biscuit was sure Gelman had taken the bait. She gently let go of his arm and waggled a finger from side to side.
"Did you forget? After stealing the Promise Ruby, you deliberately drew the Phantom Troupe's Twelve-Legged Spider on the most conspicuous wall by the entrance, then added your distinctive mark from the assassin world."
Gelman thought back. His previous self had indeed done that.
It had been a way of pledging himself to the Phantom Troupe, but the boomerang had come back to hit Gelman now.
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